Love & Lies: Marisol's Story

by Ellen Wittlinger

Book Overview

Marisol Guzman has deferred college for a year to accomplish two things: She will write a novel and she will fall in love. How hard could that be? She gets her very own apartment (with her high school best friend as roommate) and a waitressing job at a classic Harvard Square coffeehouse. When she enrolls in an adult education class -- "How to Write Your First Novel" -- there are two big surprises waiting for her: John Galardi, aka "Gio," a fellow...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416916237
• ISBN13: 9781416916239
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
• Length: 245 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.9" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

I wish I had this kind of stuff to read when I was a teenager

Being a teenager is an awkward and emotional time. This book offers the unique perspective of a girl struggling with becoming her true self. The writing is supurb, the pace keeps you turning pages long after you should have turned out the light, and the characters feel more real than some of my so called friends. Highly recommend!

Good Story with a Message fro Adults as Well as Teens

Marisol has a plan that includes deferring her first year at Stanford in order to find love and to write a novel, which would be ambitious for any adult, let alone an 18 year old that comes from a fairly well off family. Like many teens, Marisol has the misimpression that if she isn't in love, she is a loser. And, complicating her life is the simple fact that she is gay, as are most of her friends. The story revolves around her life, her finding "love" and trying, with some success, to write the novel. The book is well written and has a number of subtle messages that are, in my opinion, helpful to both teens and adult parents of teens. The messages are imbedded in the story, and are not completely obvious, yet they will make you think. The author doesn't talk down to her intended audience, and in fact, writes on a more mature level than many authors of books aimed at adults. While I don't think too many straight male teens would like this book, as it borders on chic lit, it would make a good beach read for teen girls and adults as well. Highly recommended to any readers not offended by gay relationships.

Richie's Picks: LOVE & LIES

A sampling of my favorite first lines: "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." "My name is India Opal Buloni, and last summer my daddy, the preacher, sent me to the store for a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes and I came back with a dog." "So here I am, not a half-hour old as a tie salesman and trying to look like I know what I am doing, which have got to be two of the biggest jokes of all time, when who should walk into Awkworth & Ames Department Store but Skeezie Tookis." "Henry Smith's father told him that if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you." Among the skills that eighteen-year-old Marisol Guzman will practice in the adult education class in which she has enrolled ("How to Write Your First Novel") is the crafting of first lines. "I would never have agreed to room with Birdie for the year if I'd known he intended to pick up every stray that wandered across his path." So flows the first line of LOVE & LIES, the companion novel to Ellen Wittlinger's memorable, Printz-honor-winning HARD LOVE. Lesbian heroine Marisol has deferred her first year at Stanford, become roommates with her long-time gay buddy, Birdie, and taken a job "pouring coffee and hustling cheeseburgers at the Mug in Harvard Square," in order to pursue her desire of writing a novel before heading off to college. On the first day of the writing class, Marisol discovers that Gio -- the young man from whose point of view HARD LOVE is told -- is one of her classmates, and that the previously-listed teacher for the class has been belatedly replaced by the beautiful and brilliant twenty-something Olivia Frost, an accomplished writer and a Harvard instructor. In short order, it seems as if life cannot get any better when Olivia takes a personal interest in Marisol, buying Marisol a token of her affection, taking her out for a meal, and then home to her apartment. "Her touch on my back was enough to render me momentarily speechless, but I struggled to get the words out." But things get quite complicated, thanks to the strays that Birdie brings home, the attentions of Lee, the young lesbian transplant from Indiana whom Marisol meets at the Mug, the reemergence of her friendship with Gio, and the intensity of Olivia Frost's hot-and-cold secretive and controlling behaviors. As life in the glow of Olivia progresses -- for better or worse -- Marisol comes to recognize that life, love, and character development are not as straightforward as one might think: "I try so hard to be truthful with people. I used to think it was easy -- I took pride in my policy of honesty-at-any-price. But the older I get, the more it seems like telling the truth isn't always such a straightforward business. Sometimes it's hard to know exactly what the truth is. And sometimes it takes a lot of explanation to get at the a

looking for love

Love is a funny thing, isn't it? Marisol Guzman is a young woman taking a year off from Stanford in order to write a novel and to find love. Marisol was hoping to find peace and comfort in her apartment in order to concentrate on writing her first novel. However, she doesn't get her wish. Her gay roommate, Birdie, who is her childhood best friend, has fallen head over heels over a man and asked him to move in without consulting with her first. In addition, while enrolling at an adult continuing education class on novel writing, she discovers that Gio has also enrolled. Marisol is awkward because Gio was once in love with her and he seems to be trying to get over her. Meanwhile, at The Mug, where she works, Marisol has befriended a young recently-outed lesbian, Lee. Despite the chaos in her life, Marisol is high on infatuation and love. Olivia Frost, the one teaching the class, is stunningly beautiful and intelligent. Before she knows it, boundaries are blurred and they are girlfriends. Love is grand, right? Not for Marisol because her relationship with Olivia soon takes a nosedive. Plus, there's Lee, who isn't sure of her feelings. And Gio, who seems to have move on, still brings up the past. Just what is Marisol supposed to do? Her salvation to the surrounding chaos is her novel, which she seems to have a natural talent for writing. The characters and the plot in her story are a reflection of her own life. Nonetheless, it is therapeutic for Marisol. Overall, I really enjoyed this book by Ellen Wittlinger. She does a fantastic job of making another (Marisol's) story within the book. I was a little hesitant because of the techniques and exercises that the writing students had to do. However, Wittlinger didn't disappoint me because the developing story was just as interesting. Plus, there's plenty of drama to keep you interested. Having roommates, drama is guaranteed. Jealousy and lies are a-plenty. An overbearing mother and a sister just cannot stay out of other people's lives and resentment is bound to rear its tempermental head. Again, an enjoyable read and I would recommend my friends to read this book. If Wittlinger keeps this up, she just might join my small pool of favorite authors.